"We are encouraged by the initial strong protection provided by the vaccine candidate, which is in line with the results from an earlier primate study performed in China that we were asked to repeat,” Texas Biomed AIDS Research Program Director Dr. Ruth Ruprecht, who led the study, said. “The fact that the vaccine-induced immune defenses were eventually overcome requires a careful analysis to understand the mechanisms of the initial vaccine action and to learn what other immune defenses can be enlisted to yield even more potent antiviral action."

The study consisted of two parts, the first of which repeatedly exposed the animals to a viral dose 70,000 times the average human dose, and the second of which used a viral dose 100,000 times a human one. While the vaccine did not show significant protection in the second part of the study, it was had an efficacy rate of 87 percent in the first part.

“This study proves that our HIV vaccine candidate can protect in very realistic settings and it provides a strong indication to possibly protect women against sexually transmitted HIV and come closer to an effective HIV vaccine in the future,” Mymetics CEO Ronald Kempers said. “Virosomes have a strong safety profile in children and adults and our virosome construct can easily be combined with other vaccine candidates and treatments, therefore we are hopeful that we can attract funding for the clinical development and move a step closer to an HIV vaccine."